The government's official travel agent made millions last year

THE FIRM THAT handles travel arrangements for the government booked a multimillion-euro profit last year, according to newly filed accounts.

Company documents show that Club Travel Ltd booked an operating profit of just over €6.1 million in the financial year ended 31 October 2016 – about €2.5 million more than what it made in the previous 12-month period.

The company reported sales of nearly €133 million for the year, up on 2015′s figure of €117 million. Accumulated profits increased to €46 million.

Club Travel – which is considered to be Ireland’s largest independently owned travel firm - is owned by Ryanair co-founder Liam Lonergan.

As well as organising travel for the government, the outfit handles lucrative corporate accounts for Twitter’s Dublin team and Glanbia.

Risks

Addressing the risks that face Club Travel, the company directors’ report said the markets in which it operates are “highly competitive, particularly the online sales market”.

“The company continues to explore new business opportunities in order to grow its activities,” the directors’ report said.

Directors Liam Lonergan and Colman Burke said they were confident that the company will fare well in the face of any challenges caused by Brexit.

“Although the circumstances surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union could pose challenges in the short-term, (we) are confident that the company will continue to prosper due to its strong positioning in the sector and through its growing customer base.”

Other possible risks identified by the firm included “the imposition of travel bans and restrictions on the movement of people”.

“The company has considered the risk prevalent and these are managed by innovative product sourcing and strict control of costs in response to changes in economic conditions.”

The directors were paid a dividend of €542,803.

Club Travel had an average of 174 workers on its books in 2016 with wages and salaries worth around €31,400 per person.